Connecting a community: A look at some of the best stories of February from the Naples Daily News

It's been another incredible month of news and events in Southwest Florida. Our reporters, photographers, web producers and editors have been hard at work bringing you the sites, the sounds and the amazing stories that make our corner of the world such a unique place to live.

In case you missed it, here are some of the highlights of our journalism in February:

Features reporter Ashley Collins and photojournalist Alex Driehaus traveled to Parkland one year after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting to cover the community coming together to remember the victims.

Friends and family members look at the statue of Joaquin Oliver, a student that was killed during the mass shooting that claimed 17 lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, after a commemoration on Thursday, February 14, 2019. (Photo: Alex Driehaus/Naples Daily News USA TODAY NETWORK - FLORIDA)

With a slew of new construction projects, people living in the Naples area are concerned about everything from gridlock on the roads to a landscape littered with towers. Business reporter Jennifer Beeson looked at resident fears that Naples was becoming the new Miami.

Interested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:

Ave Maria University came together after losing a student athlete in a crash on Oil Well Road. Photojournalist Alex Driehaus captured the student body and staff mourning the day after with these touching images.

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A memorial Mass is held for Emily Acosta at Ave Maria Parish Church in Ave Maria, on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. Acosta, who was a junior at Ave Maria University, died in a car crash on Wednesday afternoon on Oil Well Road. Alex Driehaus/Naples Daily News USA TODAY NETWORK - FLORIDA

Mass attendees hug during a memorial Mass for Emily Acosta at Ave Maria Parish Church in Ave Maria on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. Acosta, who was a junior at Ave Maria University, died in a car crash on Wednesday afternoon on Oil Well Road. Alex Driehaus/Naples Daily News USA TODAY NETWORK - FLORIDA

Mass attendees pray the Our Father during a memorial Mass for Emily Acosta at Ave Maria Parish Church in Ave Maria, on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. Acosta, who was a junior at Ave Maria University, died in a car crash on Wednesday afternoon on Oil Well Road. Alex Driehaus/Naples Daily News USA TODAY NETWORK - FLORIDA

Mass attendees hold hands as they pray the Our Father during a memorial Mass for Emily Acosta at Ave Maria Parish Church in Ave Maria, on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. Acosta, who was a junior at Ave Maria University, died in a car crash on Wednesday afternoon on Oil Well Road. Alex Driehaus/Naples Daily News USA TODAY NETWORK - FLORIDA

The Rev. Rick Martignetti delivers his homily during a memorial Mass for Emily Acosta at Ave Maria Parish Church in Ave Maria, on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. Acosta, who was a junior at Ave Maria University, died in a car crash on Wednesday afternoon on Oil Well Road. Alex Driehaus/Naples Daily News USA TODAY NETWORK - FLORIDA